louisella

1. Does anyone know whether all states will mark the same i.e. if we applied to NSW for an assessment, are they likely to come back with the same results? 2. Say husband studies the units specified by WA, is admitted and gains a positive skills assessment, if we then opt for the 190 state sponsored visa, are we restricted to only being able to apply to WA or can we use that positive skills assement for other states (e.g. NSW). I think previously it used to be that in order to practice in other states you had to be admitted to them individually (in addition to the state you were currently practising in) however I'm sure I read somewhere that this had been abolished.

If you can download the app for Tune In Radio you can listen to it through that (and Radio X)

I love Absolute – really good music. Radio X play some brilliant music too however it’s now sadly tarnished with Chris Moyles and Vernon Kay being on there although Johnny Vaughan on the way home is a good listen. I've come across some really good new bands through that station

Thanks @Libbyella , it seems like the solicitor route is one of the hardest (and most expensive) to go down. Re appealing I’m not sure whether that was directed more for Peachy as she seems to have more post qualified experience than my husband however I think it’s worth looking into for him. He's on 1PQE so it may not make any difference but he’s due to complete his civil higher rights in the next few weeks so whether that will have any consideration over the Civil Procedure unit I don’t know. We had included it in the paperwork but as he hadn’t actually sat the exam at that time they may have felt they needed to included the unit (this is just me hazarding a guess!) I've read that too about issues re submitting the EOI prior to admission (it may well have been your post or perhaps on a different forum) When are you due to complete your modules?

I'll keep you posted @Peachy as the next steps will be calculating how much it'll be and whether he has the time to do it all

He has but as he's only 1PQE I think they must have felt he needs to do the units as well - pretty gutting as we'd anticipated perhaps 4 or 5. We'd including his higher rights units too but it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference. Our worry is age is against him as law is his second career - he'll turn 45 in 2018 so we'll lose points then and it'll definitely be game over then

So today we've receive hubby's assessment back from the WA Legal Board - he's been advised he needs to study the following: Admin Constitutional Law Company law Civil Procedure Evidence Trust and Office Accounting Ethics and Professional responsibility It's more than we'd hoped so now it's time to see where he can study these whilst in the UK and calculate how much it'll all be before deciding whether to progress or not. Feeling slightly deflated as it feeling more and more likely that we may need to reconsider whether we go down this route

I've suggested the same (I've just come back from Cambodia and Vietnam), value for money is extraordinary so would get to see so much more than in NZ and both felt very safe countries (once you get the hang of how to cross the roads amongst all the traffic!)

I'm a little confused, your other post says you're applying for a 189 visa so not sure where the partner visa fits in?

:ssign18:

Hi, you could get points under the 489 family sponsored visa depending on where your sister lives however it's not a permanent visa and does have restrictions as to where you can live and work. Be prepared for a longer wait though as these aren't issued as often as say 189 and 190's https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/489-

Hi, I can't help about transferring the degree I'm afraid (hubby's currently in the process of doing it the other way around). We live in the South West and whilst you should be fine in Bristol, the options are definitely more limited the further south you go. There aren't many big law firms in the Devon / Cornwall area so it can be quite competitive especially if you're aiming for the higher salaries (definitely don't expect London salaries in this area though)

I've done the UK-Aus route about three times with Emirates and really liked them, always had good service. I was in upstairs economy on one of the flights but didn't really notice too much of a difference other than it being a bit quieter.

Hi @Ypudding , just be aware that the wait time for 489 family sponsored is quite lengthy (other visas - I think the 189 and 190) take priority. I'm not sure what your points are but if you're claiming points for age and are near 45 you may want to take this into consideration

Thanks so much for your reply @Racmac , it's really useful knowing others who are going along the same path. Best of luck to you and @Libbyella - we submitted the assessment form this morning to WA, hubby is only 1yr PQE so we're expecting the worst in terms of how many extra units he'll need to take! As a prelimanary, he contacted COL and University of New England to get an idea of their schedules....so now it's a case of wait and see untill we get the results mid April

Hi @Racmac & @Libbyella , we're currently in the process of submitted my husband's details to WA to see what extra subjects he will need to study for a positive skills assessment. We had previously been told he would need to sit his exams in Australia but from reading the post above it sounds like you've been able to take them in the UK? If so that would be a massive help! With regards to the addtional subjects you had to both study, what sort of timescales have you come across in terms of how long it's taken you to study them all? I appreciate it may differ according to personal circumstances however on another posting someone had said that they encountered delays because universities would only allow them to to study a certain number per semester.

I have to say even though I do dip in and out, I love this forum. I initially came on a couple of years just for some visa advice however soon enjoyed getting involved in the general chit chat. It does feel like a little family of friends. I tend to find that if someone is being catty / gossipy / unkind, it’s usually because they’re actually unhappy about some aspect of their own lives / situation but would rather direct that at someone else – it’s more indicative about the type of person they are than the person they’re talking about. It is sad especially as it’s obvious there’s a lot of hard work which goes into running this forum. I for one very much appreciate having it available

Congratulations!

I thought it was 3 years but am not an expert so hopefully someone will come along to clarify “Introduction of Validity Period for Skills Assessments Following amendments to the Migration Regulations 1994, from 1 July 2014, if a skills assessment is mandatory as part of a visa application, it will only be valid for a period of 3 years from the date of issue, unless a shorter validity period is specified on the assessment. A skills assessment must be valid at the time of lodgement for the following visas: Direct Entry stream of the Employer Nominated Scheme (subclass 186) visa; Direct Entry stream of the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) visa; and Graduate Work stream of the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa. A skills assessment must be valid at the time of invitation to apply through SkillSelect for the following visas: Skilled—Independent (subclass 189) visa; Skilled—Nominated (subclass 190) visa; and Skilled Regional (Provisional) (subclass 489) visa.

I'm not sure on this one but if the employers actually state that he took a 3 month sabbatical if asked to confirm dates i.e. "although A was employed from XX/XX date to XX/XX date, this included a 3 month sabbatical" wouldn't that reduce the amount of work experience he could claim? I'm not an expert but although employed, he technically hasn't been working for that period? I don't know how it's accounted for with others who say have taken maternity leave etc

Personally I'd say it's an extremely risky strategy with children involved. We're only going to consider 457 as a last resort and it's only the two of us (adults) going.

Apologies if this sounds like a daft question but... When claiming points for work experience, I see the following: To claim points for skilled employment you must have, in the 10 years before you were invited to apply, at least 20 hours of paid work per week in your nominated skilled occupation and/or a closely related occupation So if Person A has worked part time (20 hours) for say the last three years and Person B has worked full time (35+ hours) for the same period, are they both eligible to claim 3 years work experience or is it done pro-rata? It seems a little unfair if they can both claim the same

I'm wondering if the original poster is referring to the 489 visa where you can claim points for family sponsorship

I've found it can make a difference - a few months ago I saw flights on one laptop but a few days later couldn't get the same price. I tried on a different laptop and found the orginal price. I always clear cookies and my search history (or try a different device) before booking flights or hotels There was a programme here recently about consumer rip offs - it showed two friends who booked exactly the same flights at the same time but one got it for £20 cheaper than the other - the programme said it was probably down to their cookies and previous searches etc - crazy hey

Hi @anon123 Not sure if it'll help but whilst researching state sponsorship (in this case for WA), I came across this "Closely related occupations are those sharing the first four digits of the ANZSCO occupation code" From other research I have done, time during your training contract can't be counted (I wish it could as we'd be in a position to apply now) only post qualification experience